Old Computer Problems

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bluetoothguy
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Bluetoothguy

Hey I posted a few days ago about a HDD not being able to boot.
thought I would start a new thread seeing it was a few days old an
probably no one is looking at it anymore. Anyways, I did I cleare
the cmos and that did work and now my HDD is recognized in the BIOS

The problem I am having now is that when I try to boot windows i
stops and automatically restarts the computer. I've tried safe mod
and last known good configuration. Is this a sign of Windows bein
corrupt or does this sound like another problem. Do you think
clean install will take care of this problem
 
Bluetoothguy said:
Hey I posted a few days ago about a HDD not being able to boot. I
thought I would start a new thread seeing it was a few days old and
probably no one is looking at it anymore. Anyways, I did I cleared
the cmos and that did work and now my HDD is recognized in the BIOS.

The problem I am having now is that when I try to boot windows it
stops and automatically restarts the computer. I've tried safe mode
and last known good configuration. Is this a sign of Windows being
corrupt or does this sound like another problem. Do you think a
clean install will take care of this problem?
Click to expand...

It could be a corrupt windows install. It could also be bad RAM or a
failing power supply. Good luck, -Dave
 
Bluetoothguy said:
Hey I posted a few days ago about a HDD not being able to boot. I
thought I would start a new thread seeing it was a few days old and
probably no one is looking at it anymore. Anyways, I did I cleared
the cmos and that did work and now my HDD is recognized in the BIOS.

The problem I am having now is that when I try to boot windows it
stops and automatically restarts the computer. I've tried safe mode
and last known good configuration. Is this a sign of Windows being
corrupt or does this sound like another problem. Do you think a
clean install will take care of this problem?
Click to expand...

When windows stops and restarts at cold boot it usually means a device
failure. A device failure could mean a defective part or a bad, out of date,
or corrupted driver. An out of date driver is one that belongs to an old
part that is changed or no longer in the box. So if you switched anything
while you were playing with the other problem then that device was not
removed from windows, which will just freak out and quit because the thing
is missing.
Also, if you flashed the Bios with a newer version you could have activated
a device on the main board that was not active before.
A clean install will solve any driver nonsense. Won't do a damned thing for
you if you've got a defective device.
Take a look at Shep's Place : http://www.geocities.com/sheppola/trouble.html
.. Some good troubleshooting stuff there.
 
Bluetoothguy said:
Hey I posted a few days ago about a HDD not being able to boot. I
thought I would start a new thread seeing it was a few days old and
probably no one is looking at it anymore. Anyways, I did I cleared
the cmos and that did work and now my HDD is recognized in the BIOS.

The problem I am having now is that when I try to boot windows it
stops and automatically restarts the computer. I've tried safe mode
and last known good configuration. Is this a sign of Windows being
corrupt or does this sound like another problem. Do you think a
clean install will take care of this problem?
Click to expand...

Windows restarting like that is usually a driver problem and since you
flashed the BIOS I'd guess, off hand, that something in the new set of BIOS
parameters is different than it used to be causing a Windows driver crash.

One setting that can be particularly pernicious is APIC and, if that's
different, Windows could be trying to set IRQs that don't exist. So, first,
I'd suggest going through the BIOS parameters with a fine tooth comb to
make sure they're correct.

Failing that, I'd try a repair install, which would redetect hardware but
preserve your programs and data. You'd still need to redo any updates
afterwards.

Last resort would be a fresh install.
 
Bluetoothguy said:
Hey I posted a few days ago about a HDD not being able to boot. I
thought I would start a new thread seeing it was a few days old and
probably no one is looking at it anymore. Anyways, I did I cleared
the cmos and that did work and now my HDD is recognized in the BIOS.

The problem I am having now is that when I try to boot windows it
stops and automatically restarts the computer. I've tried safe mode
and last known good configuration. Is this a sign of Windows being
corrupt or does this sound like another problem. Do you think a
clean install will take care of this problem?
Click to expand...

Could be several things.
You could try MemTest86 to check for faulty memory modules.
Corrupted memory can give you all sorts of failures including HDD problems.

http://www.memtest86.com/

Select the "Download - Pre-Compiled Memtest86 v3.2 installable from Windows
and DOS" link to get an installer wich creates a bootable floppy.
Boot the computer from that floppy and let all tests run a few times.
Three should be enough.
The error message list should stay empty. If it is not: bingo!

If memory test succeeds, next thing to check is your HDD I guess.
You could place your HDD in another computer (as a slave-drive) and check it
from there with a full surface (bad sector) scan.

regards
Marcel
 
David Maynard said:
Windows restarting like that is usually a driver problem and since you
flashed the BIOS I'd guess, off hand, that something in the new set of
BIOS parameters is different than it used to be causing a Windows driver
crash.

One setting that can be particularly pernicious is APIC and, if that's
different, Windows could be trying to set IRQs that don't exist. So,
first, I'd suggest going through the BIOS parameters with a fine tooth
comb to make sure they're correct.

Failing that, I'd try a repair install, which would redetect hardware but
preserve your programs and data. You'd still need to redo any updates
afterwards.

Last resort would be a fresh install.
Click to expand...
Just had that problem myself yesterday. I had made some HW changes and did a
repair install of XP Pro and had forgotten that I had a thumb drive in a USB
hub. XP just kept rebooting just before the logon screen should show up. I
removed the thumb drive and everything went normal. I suspect that it was
that the driver for the thumb drive (SP1 or 2 includes it) did not load
until the XP first boot. After it booted the first time, it didn't matter if
the thumb drive was in the hub or not. Weird one. So, I agree, I would look
at a driver problem first.

Ed
 
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